The University of Pennsylvania proposes an innovative research training program for post-doctoral training for clinicians in infectious diseases clinical research, specifically designed to strengthen the links between traditional epidemiology and infectious diseases. The objective of the program is to train individuals who already are physicians to be rigorous and independent academic investigators able to use the range of approaches available in epidemiology to address research issues regarding the etiology, prognosis, prevention and early detection, treatment, clinical economics, technology assessment, medical decision making, and quality of patient care in infectious diseases. The two- to three-year training program consists of required courses in clinical epidemiology, research methodology, and biostatistics; elective courses, and extensive independent readings; attendance at and participation in research seminars in the CCEB and Infectious Diseases Division; plus the completion of an independent research project. Specifically, the training program is designed to: 1) provide in-depth knowledge of the research techniques appropriate to clinical research; 2) provide research experience with mentors in clinical epidemiology and infectious diseases; and 3) bring together faculty and fellows in the CCEB and Infectious Diseases Division. Trainees will matriculate in the Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology degree program. Strengths of the proposed program are the long history of successful research training programs in the CCEB and Infectious Diseases Division; the collaborative links that already have been forged between the CCEB and Infectious Diseases Division; and the comprehensive course offerings and research programs that are available to trainees. The proposed program is strengthened further by the availability of the broad range of rich expertise of the faculties in the CCEB and the Infectious Diseases Division at Penn, numerous existing large databases available to these groups that can be used for research projects and training, a broad array of specialized analytic capabilities available for clinical studies (e.g., clinical trials, case-control, cohort research, etc.), and the faculties' commitment to collaborative research. [unreadable] [unreadable] PARTICIPATING FACULTY: The 48 training faculty include 13 professors, ten associate professors, 20 assistant professors, two directors, one collaborator, one research associates and one chief. Eleven of the training faculty are women. All training faculty have primary appointments at the University of Pennsylvania. The primary areas of research include: clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, HIV, herpes simplex virus, economics, obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics. [unreadable] [unreadable]